China rolls USD 2.4 bln loan to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, July 27 (KUNA) -- Finance Minister of Pakistan Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that China has rolled over a USD 2.4 billion loan to Islamabad for a period of two years.

The Finance Minister in a statement to the media confirmed that the Chinese bank has rolled over principal amounts totaling USD 2.4 billion which are due in the next two fiscal years.
"Pakistan will make interest payments only over the next two years," said Dar.
The loan will help boost up the country's economy after securing a deal of USD three billion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF loan was followed by a further USD two billion of financial support from Saudi Arabia and USD one billion from the UAE.
Earlier last week, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif announced that China had rolled over a USD 600 million loan to Pakistan, helping shore up the country's foreign exchange reserves. (end) sbk.mt.